‘Vajpeyi was the dervish who went way beyond himself and his mental barriers, speaking of far greater realities than could be seen on the surface.’

When I was 22 years old, I had my first close encounter with death. Baba, my grandfather, was 68. He wasn’t ready to leave. I wasn’t ready to let him go. It all happened way too suddenly, probably because his desire to live and my need of having him around for a few more years were far too insignificant in the scheme of things.

His death created a loss and void I desperately needed to fill. I needed some answers. I needed to decode life and death, which made sense, and yet made no sense at all.

It was the same year I discovered poetry. It was the same year I came across Kailash Vajpeyi’s Sufinama purely by chance.

(When you were born / You didn’t ask why / When you die / You won’t ask why / Why then, in between/All these whys)

It was the first poem that I had read, almost as if sent to me as a signal from somewhere. Later, when the flood of grief had subsided, and when I went from one poem to the other, I realised that his words had the power to pierce my barren numbness.

Only poetry can say what cannot be told in ordinary speech. As I experienced the poems, even though I didn’t understand them too well, I began to meet myself.

(If you could have been someone else / Then you would have / You would not have been here / For this too you must be grateful to Him)

Sufinama stayed at my bedside for the longest time possible, and the poems that I often read out to my highly distressed soul were, quite simply, transformational. Those poems redeemed my faith in the eternity of life, and reawakened my curiosity in things inexplicable.

Kailash Vajpayee, as I would come to understand later, was less of a poet and more of a dervish – a spiritual seeker. Among spiritual seekers, there is an innate tendency to disparage the mind, because the reality of true self can barely fit into the confines of the mind. But they will teach you to expand that same mind, which then displays its extraordinary capacity to take us to the path of awakening.

Vajpeyi was the dervish who went way beyond himself and his mental barriers, speaking of far greater realities than could be seen on the surface. He showed us how the same mind could be used to shatter and expand itself.

(The eyes won’t be shut / And yet the world will disappear from sight / Find a way to do this / Since drowning is inevitable, it’s not the boat / But the river that you must trust)

He wrote through his breath, sound, rhythm and silence – all at once. And so what looked like a physical collection of words and hidden connotations had a far deeper metaphysical connection.

The challenger

Vajpeyi’s writings were reflections on death and detachment through continuous dialogue between conscious and supraconscious. His poems, for example Dehant se hatkar (Beyond death), often had death as the dominant theme. Even when he wrote in romance and optimism, there was a dark streak underneath. His poems had the lilt of the Bhakti era – the fascination with mortality and divine existence that is the hallmark of Indian Bhakti traditions.

His words carried with them a sense of inquisitiveness, and yet were gentle and compassionate. They baffled and challenged our simple understanding, which tends to put the world and worldly deeds in fixed and neat boxes.

Perhaps, like me, you too read poetry through alliteration, consonance and assonance. These tools, however, are merely a way of weaving the body and soul together through the resonance of verse.

Poetry affects each and every sense of our body and soul in ways beyond cognitive control. Vajpeyi’s poetry did exactly that. He never ceased to explore through his poems the frontiers of consciousness, addressing subjects that remained eternal to the humanity.

Hawa mein Hastakshar, for which he won the Sahitya Academy Puraskar in 2009, transcends traditional religiosity and mythology and delves deep into mysticism. His quest for inner truth was such that he never ceased to explore.

No wonder, then, that his pursuit led him to several other media – such as television, radio and documentaries – where he continued to explore the relationship between the real, the surreal and the divine. Even in his regular columns, Vajpeyi wondered how technology, while offering us material comforts, takes us away from spirituality.

The mystic

Mystics are always looked upon as outsiders, and more so in a world where the virtual is becoming more and more real. Despite this Vajpeyi would continue to express himself in his intimate and unobstructed voice with a familiarity that only someone extremely warm and humane could bring. He would make us believe that if there could be anything crucial and lifesaving within us, it had to be our capacity for intricate thinking, our appreciation for ever-expanding questions.

On Wednesday, as I was moving house, I discovered that Kailash Vajpeyi is dead. I tried in vain to look for my copy of Sufinama in all the packed cartons, so I could quote the lines I had once highlighted in desperation.

My constant regret since then has been that I will no longer find an opportunity to ask him those questions that I had written along the margins of the book.

Can grief for the death of a close one become the source for the growth of our spirit? How do you keep in touch with yourself through the unceasing struggle of life? How long have spiritual masters been in search of the source of light?

I may not find the answers now, but my real tribute to this modern Sufi poet will be to go back to his writings all over again.

Why do our clothes fade, tear and lose their sheen?

From purchase to the back of the wardrobe – the life-cycle of a piece of clothing.

It’s an oft repeated story - shiny new dresses and smart blazers are bought with much enthusiasm, only to end up at the back of the wardrobe, frayed, faded or misshapen. From the moment of purchase, clothes are subject to wear and tear caused by nature, manmade chemicals and....human mishandling.

Just the act of wearing clothes is enough for gradual erosion. Some bodily functions aren’t too kind on certain fabrics. Sweat - made of trace amounts of minerals, lactic acid and urea - may seem harmless. But when combined with bacteria, it can weaken and discolour clothes over time. And if you think this is something you can remedy with an antiperspirant, you’ll just make matters worse. The chemical cocktail in deodorants and antiperspirants leads to those stubborn yellowish stains that don’t yield to multiple wash cycles or scrubbing sessions. Linen, rayon, cotton and synthetic blends are especially vulnerable.

Add to that, sun exposure. Though a reliable dryer and disinfectant, the UV radiation from the sun causes clothes to fade. You needn’t even dry your clothes out in the sun; walking outside on a sunny day is enough for your clothes to gradually fade.

And then there’s what we do to our clothes when we’re not wearing them - ignoring labels, forgetting to segregate while washing and maintaining improper storage habits. You think you know how to hang a sweater? Not if you hang it just like all your shirts - gravity stretches out the neck and shoulders of heavier clothing. Shielding your clothes by leaving them in the dry-cleaning bag? You just trapped them in humidity and foul odour. Fabrics need to breathe, so they shouldn’t be languishing in plastic bags. Tossing workout clothes into the laundry bag first thing after returning home? It’s why the odour stays. Excessive moisture boosts fungal growth, so these clothes need to be hung out to dry first. Every day, a whole host of such actions unleash immense wear and tear on our clothes.

Clothes encounter maximum resistance in the wash; it’s the biggest factor behind premature degeneration of clothes. Wash sessions that don’t adhere to the rules of fabric care have a harsh impact on clothes. For starters, extra effort often backfires. Using more detergent than is indicated may seem reasonable for a tub full of soiled clothes, but it actually adds to their erosion. Aggressive scrubbing, too, is counterproductive as it worsens stains. And most clothes can be worn a few times before being put in the wash, unless of course they are sweat-soaked gym clothes. Daily washing of regulars exposes them to too much friction, hastening their wear and tear.

Different fabrics react differently to these abrasive agents. Natural fabrics include cotton, wool, silk and linen and each has distinct care requirements. Synthetic fabrics, on the other hand, are sensitive to heat and oil.

A little bit of conscious effort will help your clothes survive for longer. You can start by lessening the forces acting on the clothes while washing. Sort your clothes by fabric instead of colour while loading them in the washing machine. This helps save lighter fabrics from the friction of rubbing against heavier ones. It’s best to wash denim materials separately as they are quite coarse. For the same reason, clothes should be unzipped and buttoned before being tossed in the washing machine. Turning jeans, printed clothes and shirts inside out while loading will also ensure any abrasion is limited to the inner layers only. Avoid overloading the washing machine to reduce friction between the clothes.

Your choice of washing tools also makes a huge difference. Invest in a gentler detergent, devoid of excessive dyes, perfumes and other unnecessary chemicals. If you prefer a washing machine for its convenience, you needn’t worry anymore. The latest washing machines are far gentler, and even equipped to handle delicate clothing with minimal wear and tear.

Bosch’s range of top loading washing machines, for example, care for your everyday wear to ensure they look as good as new over time. The machines make use of the PowerWave Wash System to retain the quality of the fabrics. The WaveDrum movement adds a top-down motion to the regular round action for a thorough cleaning, while the dynamic water flow reduces the friction and pulling forces on the clothes.

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The intelligent system also creates water displacement for better movement of clothes, resulting in lesser tangles and clothes that retain their shape for longer. These wash cycles are also noiseless and more energy efficient as the motor is directly attached to the tub to reduce overall friction. Bosch’s top loading washing machines take the guesswork away from setting of controls by automatically choosing the right wash program based on the load. All that’s needed is a one-touch start for a wash cycle that’s free of human errors. Read more about the range here. You can also follow Bosch on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

This article was produced by the Scroll marketing team on behalf of Bosch and not by the Scroll editorial team.